Tagged French

Uhh, highly doubt any of these bands are heathen droogies à la AClockwork Orange as implied in a recent wave of fear mongering by French media on the degenerating state of civil society. But ohhh, what a glorious metaphor! If only it were true, though…

That’s not to say there is a strong correlation between rad art and social disorder.

Whatever’s causing so much gritty, far-out darkwave, post-punk, garage, and shoegaze to emerge from Paris and Rennes, a very eclectic scene is flourishing- maybe it’s the beginning of a new underground or something in French indie? Except, there’s nothing particularly “French” about FUTURE or other groups like Catholic Spray, Subtle Turnhips, Hermetic Delight, Dead, Venera 4, and A V G V S T. This is kind of important, I guess, because you don’t typically think of punk, garage or psych rock coming from France.

The internets are already doing backflips over M83‘s album ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’ and now leading man Anthony Gonzalez has dropped an official video for ‘Midnight City’! Directed by Fleur & Manu who recently won awards for Bag Raiders ‘Sunlight’ (you know the video with the monkey and the young girl…*cough*)!? Anyway, for M83’s ‘Midnight City’ Fleur & Manu get all Village Of The Damned. Check it out below…

M83’s double album epic ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’ is just around the corner, pick it up on October 14. Sadly, the album was leaked online several weeks ago but lead man Anthony Gonzalez won’t be crying for long. ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’ is so impressive I imagine fans will be lapping up the physical release, the vinyl, the tea towel and the matching M83 fluffy slippers (if they decide to make some).

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

In a time where the ten track album is king, M83’s ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’ weighs in at over twenty two songs spanning two discs. It’s a bold move and shows how much effort has gone into its making. Given the material released to date, it looks like M83’s work on ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’ will land the Frenchmen on many obligatory end of year ‘best of’ lists.

M83 recorded the album the old fashioned way, in a traditional studio with a host of musicians. The brass and string sounds are where it really shows. This kind of production isn’t within reach of many artists these days, nor is it necessary anymore but in this case it really paid off.

Gonzalez recently spoke to Pitchfork about his intentions with the album, “The idea was to make a double album, but not something too long and pretentious and lyrical. When I was a teenager, I craved these kinds of records. I would go to the store and dig and dig until I found something big and ambitious. I bought the Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and I was head over heels for it. I’ve never been a Beatles fan, but The White Album is a great piece of art.

I feel like an old guy saying this, but nowadays everything is made in a bedroom on a computer. I’m not denying that it’s a great time for music– and I listen to and enjoy tons of homemade music– but I need to go in a studio and work with musicians. I want to make things like they used to be when I was buying albums. I am still very nostalgic about this idea of an object– something that you can listen to for a long time. This album is a statement in that way. Of course I’m going to try to push people to buy it on CD or vinyl, but I know 90% of them will get it on iTunes, and that makes me sad.” (read the full interview here).

It’s impossible to label this release. M83 jump from bold electronic pop to throbbing rock to orchestral crescendos, there’s even a song about a magical frog that you’re not likely to forget. Regardless of what music you identify with, ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’ will have something for you. If you’ve never invested in M83 before, this record is a great place to start.